mommyhoodatthirty.com » Day 31: "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder"

Day 31: "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder"

So you may be wondering where I got that quote in the title from. I can surely say it wasn’t me or anyone I am close to. Before I explain, let me give you a background as to the city I live in.We moved about an hour south of Seattle b/c we could actually afford a nice newer house. Now in this city, once the presidential election campaigning started, it was an anomaly if you saw someone driving around with an Obama sticker on their car, let alone someone standing on the corner with an Obama sign. This is when I truly realized how conservative my city really is. It’s one of those places were a lot of the men are over sized truck driving, camouflage wearing, shot gun carrying, excited to go hunting type of people. Not my cup of tea, but I surely respect anyone for their views on life. And this is because I want them to respect me for my views. (This is something I try to teach my students when disagreements occur in the classroom.)

So, the butcher I go to in this city is pretty darn amazing. They have the most amazing homemade jerky, pepperoni, sausage…well you get the picture. It’s one of those places where if you walked in, there is a good chance you would see a quarter of a cow hanging, awaiting it’s preparation into steaks, stew beef, rump roast, and ground beef. And the best part is that all the meat they have there is completely organic. (And if you know me from before this mommy blog, you will probably be shocked that I even go to a butcher since I was a vegetarian for so many years…but pregnancy cravings have a way of changing that.) So today when I walked in, I noticed on a bulletin board behind the counter was a tacked up bumper sticker that read, “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder.” Seriously! Mental disorders are serious things. So many of my students at the alternative high school I teach at have battled with depression, anxiety etc. And to compare a political belief to a “mental disorder” is absolutely absurd! I respect others for their views b/c we all have those rights to believe in what we want, but come on, this crosses the line.

I hope I can raise my daughter to know that things like this are not OK to profess. She will be raised to be able to believe in whatever she desires and to therefore respect others for their beliefs. And you know what, I really do like where I live. The burbs are a quiet nice place to have a family. I’m not going to judge everyone based upon that bumper sticker. And I will still go to that butcher, b/c they do have the best meats. I probably will, though, have my guard up a bit more when conversing at this mom and pop shop. I just wish that I didn’t have to forage through political views on my way to pick up a brisket.

DISCLAIMER: I in no way shape or form posted this in order to get a political discussion started, or to let you know of my political beliefs. I just needed to get this off my chest b/c comparing anyone’s views to a mental disorder is just wrong, no matter what those views might be!